Now or Never
by kakashifangrl1012
Summary: Sophie decided that she didn't want it to end this way. They were the best of the best; they could make it work. And once they went their separate ways, she knew she wouldn't see him again. Nate/Sophie


**Hey, I loved the season finale of this show and I just couldn't help myself. It's really been fantastic so far and I can't wait for its return! This is my take on how things should go after the finale left us hanging. I just thought, 'Who's gonna turn around first?' and it went from there. Enjoy!**

Sophie clenched her fists and bit her lip. She didn't want to walk away now, not when this group was finally starting to really work together. They could do so much more good, and truthfully, she was having more fun than she'd ever had while working with this team. There were more variables, bigger heists that could be pulled off that could never even be thought about while working solo. It was new for all of them; something completely different than what they were used to, unexplored territory. They were like a weird assortment of pictures thrown together in a collage, and Nathan Ford was the glue holding them to the paper.

Ah, yes. Then there was Nate.

She wondered how he would survive without someone to look after him, namely her. She hoped he would stop drinking now that he had his revenge, but it was a foolish thing to assume. Nate was a full-fledged alcoholic and he was going to need someone there to help him get well again. Not to mention that he was the one who found her after however many years. And now he was just going to walk away from her… again. The man was infuriating, and she cursed herself for falling for him in the first place.

_Well,_ she decided, _It's now or never._

She wheeled around to face the rest of the team. To her surprise, they had all stopped too; she could read the indecision in their movements.

So they didn't want to leave either. That was interesting.

"Dammit, Nate," she said calmly and evenly.

He looked over his shoulder at her, his curiosity piqued. Sophie almost never swore, and when she did, it was usually for a good reason. And all too often directed at him.

She ran a hand through her hair, looking at the floor, anywhere but at him. He turned around to face her, contemplating her nervousness. What was she thinking?

Finally, she looked him in the eye, crossing her arms, striking a pose. Nathan almost smiled; it was pure Sophie Deveraux. Then again, he knew an argument was coming. He braced himself.

"It doesn't have to be this way," she stated.

"It does, Sophie," Nate immediately contradicted. "All the law enforcement in the U.S. knows our faces by now."

"So what?" she shot back, "All of Europe knows my face and I got by for years without getting caught."

"You were alone," Elliot piped up. He Hardison, and Parker had now turned back so that they were all facing each other.

"Not to mention we can't go to Europe if they would be looking for you there," Parker added with a shrug.

Nathan gave Sophie a look that said, "See? They get it." Sophie looked exasperatedly back at him.

"I agree with Sophie," Hardison spoke. He shrugged when they all looked at him. "I'm just saying, if we can find a way to keep working together, then we should do it. We can make a lot more of a difference." He shrugged again.

Sophie didn't miss the quick glance Hardison gave Parker, though Parker didn't seem to notice entirely. Or she was just pretending not to notice. There was definitely something going on between those two. She wondered if Elliot or Nate saw it. Probably not, they were typical guys.

At least she knew Nate wouldn't see; it took him long enough just to notice her.

Now it was her turn to give him a triumphant look. Nate frowned, which only made Sophie smirk more.

"No," he said simply, but firmly.

"C'mon Nate," she still protested, "We've done it before, we can do it again."

"That was you, Soph. I was chasing you, remember?"

"All over Europe, yes. That only proves my point."

"How so?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"You came the closest to catching me, and you still couldn't do it. And now were on the same side…" she trailed off with a small smile.

The rest of the team watched the argument curiously, looking back and forth between undoubtedly the two most experienced of the group while they argued. At the moment, Nathan was thinking, looking at each of them in turn and finally at Sophie. To all of them, the silence was extremely loud; if Nate decided they were done, then they were done. They couldn't go on without him as their leader. But to Sophie, it was deafening; her smile had long since faded. If he left now, she probably wouldn't see him again. His gaze lingered on her the longest.

"Let's put it to a vote, shall we?" he finally proposed.

The rest of the team exchanged looks.

"You have to be absolutely one-hundred percent in on this," he explained, "From this point on, you are on this team until I say so. We work together; your solo careers are as good as gone. Once you raise your hand, there's no turning back. Understand?"

After a few seconds of contemplation, he received several nods of acknowledgement. There was a sudden air of seriousness enveloping them.

"Alright. Who's in?" he asked, surveying their expressions.

Hardison slowly raised his hand, followed by Parker, who gave him a little grin. Elliot rolled his eyes and followed suit. Sophie remained still.

"Sophie?" Nate asked, "You started this; you better be coming."

She detected a slight hint of nervousness in his voice. It was all the conformation she needed. She knew that he had come to the same conclusion she had. If they split up now, that was it, and they were done. The fact that he knew that, and he didn't want to end whatever it was that they had, meant the world to her. He wasn't walking away this time.

She raised her hand lazily.

"I guess you finally caught me," she said with a small smile.

In all reality, he had caught her quite some time ago, but there was no need to tell him that. Nate smiled back.

"Where to?" he asked.

Every one of them looked generally confused as to where they should go, where they should start over. Ironically, they could pretty much go wherever they wanted; they were wanted everywhere. They needed somewhere with a lot of people; they could blend in easily. All of them spoke at least two languages, so communication wasn't a problem. It would also be wise to get out of the US; they could always come back once things quieted down.

"Paris?" Sophie suggested hopefully.

Of course.

"Objections?" Nate questioned. When no one said anything, "Paris it is."

He turned and walked toward his plane with confident strides; this time he had no regrets. Well, that wasn't exactly true; more like he had no regrets that he would have otherwise recently acquired. Or something like that.

Elliot suddenly remarked, "What's with you and Paris?" He glanced sidelong at Sophie as they followed Nate.

She shrugged, "I like it there. I know every block of that city."

Nathan scoffed, "No kidding."

Sophie grinned. To the rest of the team's looks she said, "It's a long story." As if that explained everything.

"We'll have to lay low for a while, still," Nate plowed on. "But we'll have an advantage once things quiet down.' He reached the staircase that led up to the plane and stood to the side of it to let them all on.

"We will?" Parker inquired, walking up the steps with natural grace followed by the geek, the muscle man, and lastly, the grifter.

"Of course. I'm sure Sophie's got some bad guys in mind." He winked at her as she passed.

"Oh, definitely," she confirmed, a slightly devious look playing across her face.

Nate smirked as he followed her into the plane. They were just getting started.

**So how'd I do? Not my best work, but it's not bad. I played up the Nate/Sophie angle; I really like them together. And throughout the season Sophie kept making random references to Paris. I'm assuming it's where she and Nate met when he was trying to catch her. Hopefully, the writers will give us more on their background in the next season. Thanks for reading and tell me what you think! **


End file.
